Silent Witness
by MiaulinK
Summary: Danny's parents have an important business meeting to attend, and they are afraid Danny will disrupt the meeting. Solution? Send him to stay at Vladimir Master's house for a few weeks. They needed a break from taking care of him, anyway. Mutant!Danny, Mutant!Vlad, MutantHunting!Fentons. M for safety (Language and Assault). Maybe a T, but probably M worthy.
1. Vlad

**I own nothing! Important A/N: I will not be updating on December 1, and 8, because those days will be too close to Latin 1 finals. If I manage to write a chapter, I will post it, but if I cannot, I hope I will at least have extra ideas for more chapters.**

Chapter 1: Vlad

Mommy and Daddy had some important visitors, and Vlad had offered to take care of Danny so he wouldn't get in the way. Jazzy was staying; she wasn't a nuisance like Danny. She knew how to behave. Vlad's mansion was a few hours away from town, but Daddy and Mommy had taken the opportunity to talk to him. Danny didn't know why Vlad gave his Daddy mean looks, or why he kept holding Mommy's hand when he could.

Vlad was nice. He read to Danny, and let him chose the book. He gave Danny sweets, and let him play with his phone. But Vlad caught Danny.

Danny had been trying to reach a book in the library, so he could look at the pictures. Vlad let him do that. It looked like it had lots of stars on it. Danny couldn't reach the book, so he decided to do something Jazzy told him not to do around anybody, especially Mommy and Daddy. He thought hard, _come down_. The book came down, and Danny just barely managed to catch it the way he had learned to, to imagine a big shelf that stopped it from falling.

He heard a sharp gasp of astonishment from behind him, and he turned around, jumping. He wasn't supposed to get caught. Jazzy said that Daddy might do bad things to him if he got caught.

Vlad was behind him. He was staring at the book that crashed to the floor as soon as Danny lost focus. His gaze switched to Danny, who had flattened himself against the bookshelf.

"Did you do this, Danny?" His voice was nice. Calm.

Danny stayed very still. Something bad would happen to him, he knew. Jazzy was always right. He shook his head rapidly, but didn't say a thing.

Vlad sat down beside him, exuding patience, before gathering a pretty ball of pink energy inside the palm of his hand. "I can do things like that, too. See?" He let the pink ball drift off his hand, and move slowly towards Danny.

Danny relaxed a little. The swirly ball was weird, and Vlad was making it. That meant that Vlad was like him! He slowly shuffled forward, until he was able to touch the ball. The ball shocked him, making him yelp. He tried to shake it off, but it stuck to his hand, and he finally calmed down, Vlad watching him with amusement. Danny brushed his hand over the ball, fascinated by its warmth. He glanced up, face lit up by the pink glow.

"Are you sure you didn't make the book float? I don't mind." Vlad's voice was smooth, and Danny gave in.

"Yes, sir," Mommy told him he must be respectful to his elders, "I did." Danny waited.

"Can you do it again?" Vlad was smiling at him. Danny had never seen such a nice smile on an adult's face.

Danny made the book float again, but froze when it hit Vlad, gently. Vlad wouldn't like that. Mommy hated when he did things like that. Last time, he got slapped. He automatically braced himself.

"Danny, don't worry." Vlad knew what he had been thinking of, probably from his stance. "It didn't hurt. Do you want me to read that story to you?"

Danny nodded, happy, and relaxing, because he wasn't going to be slapped. Vlad stood up, offered him a peppermint, and walked to an armchair, before sitting down, and helping Danny get into his lap. Danny settled down, and listened closely as the story began, curled up, and sucking on the peppermint. It tasted very good, and the story was nice. It was about a girl who fell asleep, and didn't wake up for a hundred years. There were lots of pictures, and one had the girl lying down, and the prince was kissing her.

"Was his name really Prince Charming? An' why are they kissing? Mommy and Daddy do that a lot, but I thought people didn't kiss when they were sleeping. Shouldn't she be kissing him too, like Mommy kisses Daddy when they're in bed?" Danny was curious. Daddy didn't answer questions like that, and Mommy yelled at him when he'd walked in on them kissing in their bedroom.

"No, his name was…I have no idea what his name was, but it wasn't Prince Charming. They're kissing because Briar Rose is pretty, and he likes her." Vlad looked a little awkward at the last question, but managed to get some form of answer out. "You don't kiss that was until you know somebody for a while."

Danny was silent for several seconds, before he boldly declared, "I like you, Uncle Vlad." It was the first time he'd called anyone uncle, but he liked it, and, from the way Vlad was smiling, he liked it, too.

"Say that again for me, Danny." Vlad looked startled, but pleased.

"I like you, Uncle Vlad. Can I call you that?" Danny questioned, anxiously.

"Yes, you can. In fact, please do. Now," Vlad got up, but settled Danny on his hip, somehow, "I have someone I'd like you to meet. She cooked that meal you ate. Jack and Maddie might not like her, but I think you would. She's like you and I." He walked up the stairs, and into another room, a burgundy room.

The occupant of the room was startled, and rose with a little start, but relaxed when she saw that it was Vlad who entered. "Hey, Sugar-Daddy! Who's this kid?" She greeted him with a smile, and a gesture to Danny, who Vlad carefully set down.

"This is Daniel Fenton." The woman looked worried, and Danny shrunk behind Vlad's legs when she approached. The lady had green skin, which contrasted against the pale blue halter-top shirt she wore. "Danny, meet Calla Dinan." He tugged gently on Danny's arm, slowly pulling him out into the open.

"Vlad, what are you thinking, bringing someone with his parents here?" Her tone was careful, clearly cautious.

"He's like us, but he's telekinetic. I decided to let him meet you." Vlad imparted the news with a smile. "I thought you might like him."

Danny watched her closely, as she moved towards him, waiting for the near-inevitable retreat. Danny stayed very still, but let her approach. She finally bent down to his level, and asked him to show her what he could do. Danny glanced up towards Vlad, to see if it was alright. Vlad nodded, so Danny slowly lifted a pen on the table behind her, before letting it come to him. She stared at the pen.

"So, nobody in his family knows?" She enquired.

"I don't believe so. We all know what would happen to him if they did." Vlad answered.

"Jazzy says not to show anybody, but she doesn't tell me why. Why can't I show Daddy?" Danny asked. Maybe his family would like him better if he showed them the cool things he could do.

The pair exchanged glances, before he was informed by Calla, "They would do bad things to you. Do you know what they do, as scientists? They would decide they wanted to hurt you so they could understand what made you do things like you just showed me. You should remember to obey your sister. She's very smart." Danny nodded, and decided he liked Calla already.

"Why's your skin green? What can you do?" He wanted to know that, and he was glad when he got an answer as Vlad left him with her, and he followed her, questioning her constantly, and gathering new information. He liked her, too, and he finally addressed her as Aunt Calla. She liked that, and Danny was very happy she did. She let him ask all the questions he wanted to, and she told him that she might call someone she knew who could help him do better at controlling his power, powers, she corrected, when he told her he could feel anything she felt.

He was quickly caught up in life at the mansion, and didn't want to go home, even by the time he had spent a week there. He even got to meet their son, Alder. They weren't married, which Danny didn't understand. Didn't you need to be married so you could have kids? Everyone _he_ knew was, so he hadn't known it was possible to have kids and not be married. He missed Jazzy, but he didn't miss Mommy and Daddy. Besides, Vlad and Calla paid him lots of attention, and took him on a short trip to a zoo, where there were lots of giraffes, and, when he expressed interest in astronomy, they took him to a planetarium.

 **How do you like this story? Read and review, please! Danny is five or so, and he is staying with Vlad for a short time. At this point, the Fentons live a few hours away, because they will be requested (ordered) to move, because of dangerous experiments. They wind up moving to California.**

 **-MiaulinK**


	2. Ice and Gingerbread

**I own nothing!**

Chapter 2: Ice and Gingerbread

Calla sat on the red, plush couch, reading. Danny had quickly learned that reading was one of her favorite activities, and had taken full advantage. He enjoyed sitting beside her, soaking in the warmth she emanated. That, at the moment, was exactly what he was doing. She had, ever since discovering how bored he was by regular books, moved on to the _Chronicles of Narnia_. Danny liked hearing about how Aslan always took care of the children. How he wasn't always obviously there, but he was keeping them safe, making sure they didn't get killed.

Danny wondered what life would be like if his parents loved him like that. Maybe, maybe, he would snuggle up beside his mom every night, before bedtime, and he would get candy like the other kids. Maybe, life would be better. Danny liked to think so, but he didn't think too much about it. Instead, he waited, half expecting to be pushed back out of his temporary family's life. He really liked little Alder. Alder was a mix of both his parents. He had silvery hair (though Danny didn't think about how odd that was), blue eyes, and green skin. Danny liked to pretend that Alder was his baby brother. Calla approved completely.

He was allowed to sleep with them when he was afraid. He liked that. He barely even minded when the baby cried. There was snow, because, this far north, it was cold, even in barely-November weather. This was why he was curled up beside Calla. It was frigid outside, and she had refused to let him play out there without adult supervision. Danny had laughed at that, and told her that his mom didn't care if he went out into the streets, as long as he didn't pester her. Calla had drawn him in, giving him a tight hug that Danny didn't understand. So, he wasn't allowed out of Calla's sight for now, and he was reading over her shoulder.

She was reading the funny pages to herself, and when she came across one he could understand, she would read it to him. He liked _Marvin_ lots, even when he was hard to understand. Sometimes, he pointed to one, just to get her to read it aloud. He was wrapped tight "like a pig in a blanket", as Calla called it, underneath a fuzzy blanket. He even had some hot chocolate. It had been so long since he had had something that tasted like chocolate, since he had eaten way too much, and gotten a stomachache. He liked it lots.

Just as Calla closed the papers, after giving some of the news a quick glance, and deciding it wasn't suitable for someone his age to read, after all, he had already proven that he could read well, Vlad walked in, grinning.

"Calla, my dear, care to go for a ride in the sleigh? Danny can come along, but the baby needs to stay." He sidled up behind her, rubbing her shoulders, as she relaxed into his grip.

"But the baby might wake up." She objected, weakly. She had told Danny that she wanted to go on a sleigh trip for a while, so she didn't object much.

"I'm sure he won't. Besides, being alone for only a little bit won't hurt him."

Vlad had succeeded. Calla got up, and helped Danny put a coat on. Danny pulled his hat and mittens on, and waddled almost all the way to the sleigh. Calla picked him up when they were almost at the stables, and passed him to Vlad, so Vlad could help Danny sit down. The sleigh was prepared, and so were they. The horses that Vlad owned, Dolly and Prince, took off.

The sleigh rushed away, and Danny giggled, the cold air brushing his cheeks, and turning them a flushed, slightly chapped pink. Calla drew him closer, making sure he was snug between herself and Vlad. Danny leaned forward, and looked at the cold, icy branches. While the ground was snowy, the branches of the trees, and many of the bushes, were coated in ice from the storm. Danny shivered. There were several streams on Vlad's property, and they were all covered in ice, to the point that no water could be heard flowing.

Vlad stopped the horses near one of the streams, and let his passengers get out. Danny instantly took off, stepping onto the ice with glee, and slipping and sliding, ran into a fallen tree. He stopped for several seconds, before taking a deep breath, because it really hadn't hurt that badly, and getting back up. He carefully placed his feet so as to avoid slipping too much, and returned to the ground. He darted back through the snow, listening to the funny crunches of the snow beneath his feet.

He ran around in circles, before finally returning, but not before making a snow angel. Said angel was severely misshaped, but Danny didn't care. To him, it was a master piece, and he made several more. An entire family of snow angels soon lay side by side, with marks between them, showing where he'd gotten up to make another one. The snow family now numbered 5. He liked that number. It was his age. The mommy and daddy stood beside the snow children. There were three kids. One was him, one was Jazzy, and the other was Alder. The parents were Vlad and Calla Masters. When the subjects of his picture came over to get him to return to the sleigh, he showed them it.

Calla looked pleased; Vlad wasn't quite so pleased, but he still smiled, and told Danny it was a good picture, but that he wouldn't make a very good daddy. Danny hugged him around the knees, and told him that he was the best daddy, ever. Calla picked him up, and carried him to the sleigh again, where she held him in his lap, all the way back to the mansion.

When they got back, supper was prepared by Vlad while Calla fed the baby, and it was delicious. Danny really liked her cookies, the gingerbread ones. Calla said that he could help her make a gingerbread house on the next day. She had already gotten the equipment, and she just needed two helpers. Here, she cast Vlad a meaningful look. He offered her a nod, and agreed to help her, as well.

Thus it was that after supper, the small, temporary family began the work of making a gingerbread house. Danny gleefully gobbled all the candy they let him have, and managed to messily put m&ms all over the house. Calla made a ginger-family ("no home is complete without a family") and the icing on the house was spread by Vlad. Danny offered to give Alder some candy, but he was told that Alder couldn't digest food like candy ("Babies can't digest hard stuff." "Why?" "Because they have acid, like vinegar, in their stomachs, and that acid isn't strong enough, I guess. I don't really know why." "Why?" Because…that's just the way it is, Danny."). That was perfectly fine by Danny: it meant that he got more candy than he would have otherwise.

Danny was allowed to play doctor with some of the gingerbread men, but he accidentally broke one. It dropped to the floor, breaking up on impact. Danny tensed as he looked up. Vlad looked very angry, but only for a second, before he leaned over to help Danny pick the pieces up. He had Danny wash that part of the floor, just a little bit, to make sure the floor wouldn't be sticky. Danny was glad to see that Vlad probably wasn't too angry with him, hopefully. Sometimes adults were weird.

Danny was sent to bed around eight o' clock. ("But I'm not sleepy, Aunt Calla. I'm hungry, and I want to watch the stars come out." "Are you delaying bedtime?" "Yes.") He curled up, Ursa, his toy rocketship, against his cheek, struggling to not sleep, because he wasn't sleepy, even if he was yawning, while Calla read to him. He fell fast asleep mid-story, leaving Calla to tuck him in.

 **How do you like my newest chapter? I hope it's okay. It took me a while to think of some more Calla stuff. I was planning on staying close to the plot, but writing a little bit more Calla fluff appealed to me. The more I know of her, the more I like her. At this rate, I might even come up with her entire history! If you couldn't tell, the rocket, Ursa, was named after the various "Ursa" constellations, Ursa Minor, and Ursa Major.**

 **-MiaulinK**


	3. Nightfall, Dream's Fall

**I own nothing!**

Chapter 3: Nightfall, Dream's Fall

It was thundering outside, and Danny was terrified. He clutched his toy spaceship, Ursa, to his chest, shivering. The room he was in was big, with a large, four poster bed. It was on this bed that he perched, wrapped up in blankets. The digital clock beside the bed glowed with an eerie light, 9:43pm, blinking on and off. He'd been sent to bed at 7:00pm because he'd stayed up too late the previous night, watching the television, a nature show about stars being on it. He'd stayed up until 11:00pm. Vlad and Calla had been willing to let him watch it because it was showing a lot of rare events, and he even got to see an eclipse. Lightning flashed outside, and Danny made his decision.

He carefully slid off the bed, toes curling at the contact with the cold wooden floor. Uncle Vlad had told him he had to stay in his own room, but that he could come to them if he needed anything. Danny waited for the lightning to flash again so he could see better where he was going, before he took steps away from the bed, to his left, and in the general direction of the door. His nightlight flickered, and went out, simultaneous with the clock, leaving him in complete darkness.

The drumming of rain against the window in his room was the only other noise besides the occasional thunder. Danny tripped over a book he'd left on the floor, before he got up, and resumed walking. The lightning struck again, almost at the same time a particularly loud BOOM was audible. The boom startled him, and he dropped to the floor, almost at the door, but waiting for the loudness to stop.

When it did, he scurried into the hallway, and used the wall to guide him to the light switch. The light wouldn't come on when he flipped the switch, so he kept going, and finally entered a room with a little light. The storm had stopped by the time he entered the kitchen, where he stood still, wondering if he should return to his bed because the storm was mostly gone. The gingerbread house he had made with Calla was visible, a LED lightbulb lighting up the outside with batteries. The house glowed eerily. He stayed there for a while, until he noticed the moon was starting to come back out. Vlad said the weather changed quickly in the area where they were because of the constantly-blowing-wind. The wind was blowing very hard, making the clouds fly away swiftly. The still-icy branches crackled and broke, strewn across the lawn.

Danny decided to keep going. The weather might go back to thunder and lightning soon. Besides, he wanted to be with them. It was scary, sleeping alone. He usually slept with Jazzy, when he was at home. He stumbled along, knowing the lights were still off because of the lightning. The moonlight, slowly beginning to filter through the windows, offered him a little light to walk by. He finally made his way up the stairs, up a single flight, and into the red carpet covered hallway. He walked faster now, and he could hear Alder crying.

Alder was only a few months old, about three. Danny wondered why he was crying. Probably he was hungry, Danny concluded, because Aunt Calla said babies got hungry lots of the time, and they told people they were hungry by crying. Danny didn't know what to do, but maybe he could stop Alder from crying more by distracting him. That was what Aunt Calla did sometimes while Uncle Vlad got baby formula. Danny halted outside the door briefly, before entering without knocking. He peeked around, before slinking behind a couch that they kept in there, his imagination running wild as he spotted a big bear in the curtains.

Danny didn't stir an inch; the bear might come and eat him. The shadows shifted as the curtains swayed. Danny could hear the door creak a little as Vlad entered abruptly, growling under his breath, "Damn baby won't shut up." Danny gasped softly. Vlad was saying a _Bad Word_. Danny listened, but didn't say anything. Should he warn Vlad about the bear?

The baby wailed louder, practically begging for someone to pay it some attention. Vlad stalked over and picked the baby up, trying to calm it down. He rocked it back and forth, but nothing worked, and the baby only cried louder. Vlad, suddenly, was very angry. "Shut the fuck up!" He gave the baby a shake that made it cry louder. Danny was frozen. Vlad had said another _Word_ , and he was shaking a baby. He wasn't supposed to do that.

Abruptly, Vlad set the baby down on his lap, eyes glowing in red rage; Danny felt a chill moving up his spine at the sight of his eyes, even if he didn't know why. Vlad's hands moved up the baby's body, until they reached its head, where they settled, one on each side of Alder's skull, over each ear, as he lifted the baby up into the air. Suddenly, he squeezed, and Danny could hear the distinct crackling sound of bones breaking. The baby let out one last screech, before Vlad threw it to the ground, its body hitting the ground with a dull thud. A dark, reddish substance showed up in the moonlight, contrasting against the pale white of Vlad's skin. Blood.

Nothing happened for a long time. Vlad stared at his hands, with a gaze that was both panicky and amazed. Danny was frozen. He couldn't move, even if he had been able to from his position behind the couch, staring at the body on the floor, and at the blood spattered all over his uncle's clothes. Vlad suddenly turned around, standing up, before sitting down again. Footsteps were heard in the passage as Vlad tried to reach a decision.

"Hi, sugar-daddy." It was Calla, the only person, Vlad said, who was allowed to call him that. She was dressed in a bra and panties, grey, distorted by the moonlight. One of the straps of the bra hung off of her shoulder. She was smiling slightly, but she hadn't seen the floor yet. In fact, she wasn't fully turned around. "Got the baby quiet? Your talents on that front must be getting better." She finally turned around the rest of the way, and caught sight of the body. She screamed, stunned.

In that split second, Vlad lunged across the room, and grabbed hold of her by her straps and hair, throwing her onto the floor beside the body. She screamed again as he pinned her down against it, and ripped her bra off. A moment later, he was pressed close to her, and her shrieks grew muffled, her legs kicking, fighting as hard as she could, before she went silent, her struggles ceasing, held down too heavily by the weight atop her body. Danny didn't see all of what happened after that, but he saw enough. He didn't make a sound, paralyzed by fear.

Suddenly, Vlad rose, half-picked her small, squirming form up, just the upper half, and threw her back down hard enough for her to stop moving. He walked away, leaving her bruised form on the floor, not caring about her. She shuddered back to life, and spotted him, curled up behind the couch, staring. She didn't move for a little bit, but then she managed a whisper, "Go. Call 911. Tell them…tell them to come fast. Tell them to come to Quincy Mansion. Go now."

Danny didn't move. He couldn't. He was barely breathing. Calla was attempting to get to her feet, but she couldn't. Even the slightest effort resulted in a quiet moan. Her right ankle was at a funny angle. Danny's eyes were wide, fixed, almost glassy from shock. Vlad walked back in, carrying a knife. He bent down, and pushed Calla back as if she were barely anything, and she caught sight of the knife. The second she saw it, she cast Danny a terrified look, and allowed herself to plea to Vlad, beg him to stop. Too late. He pinned her down again as she resumed struggling, fear of death the only thing stopping her from simply lying there. The knife went in, and Danny could hear the sound of it cutting through skin. Calla flailed frenetically, blood spattering everywhere in her attempts to gain her freedom. Plants sprouted spasmodically from their places by the window as she attempted everything she knew in a single-minded escape effort.

The blood sprayed onto Danny, who didn't even flinch at the blood on his night shirt, too terrified to begin to shudder. The blood was warm. She screamed, and it registered in Danny's mind, but he was unable to process it. After a while, the screaming stopped. Instead, the thunks of the knife piercing through her skin, past the bone, and into the wooden floor continued.

Vlad finally stopped, leaving the room, and hurrying away. Calla's head turned slowly, in micro inches, in Danny's direction, meeting his petrified gaze. Her eyes softened, and Danny just barely managed to muster the willpower to crawl towards her. He halted next to her, still incapable of thought. He could feel her breath on his cheeks, as blood poured out of the massive, deep gashes in her body. The blood stained Danny's hands and clothes, but he didn't do anything. Her eyes suddenly went glassy, and the little effort she made to lift her head ended in failure as it thumped against the floor.

Danny could hear Vlad's footsteps again, and he scurried across the room, and down the hall as fast as his little legs could carry him, his one thought to leave, to hide, before he curled up in bed, back in his own room, without changing his clothes. He didn't sleep at all. He didn't know how long it had taken, and it didn't really occur to him to wonder. He was still in shock, and he lay on top of his bedcovers all night, barely thinking at all, the only clear images running through his head the terrifying, bright, red eyes he'd seen, and the glassy blue eyes of his adopted aunt.

 **Like it, or hate it? Remember to review it!**

 **-MiaulinK**


	4. Not a Fairy Tale Ending

**I own nothing!**

Chapter 4: Not a Fairy Tale Ending

Danny didn't get out of bed for a long time, until Vlad came upstairs to take him to breakfast. Danny tried to pull away, sharply, evading Vlad's grasp only briefly. It only took that brief moment for Vlad to realize what had happened. He gripped Danny's hand in a steely grip, watching Danny's eyes.

"So. What shall I do with you?" Vlad's voice was slick with oily anger. "I don't want a witness." He suddenly smiled, and reached into his pocket, picking up the same knife he'd used on Calla. It still had stains on it. He kept his grip on Danny's hand, drawing Danny closer, no matter how much he started to struggle and whimper, too terrified by the man's amused, angry red eyes to get away.

Vlad pulled Danny very close, so close he could feel Vlad's breath, before holding his hand up, and inserting the knife into his upper arm. Danny choked, and tears streamed down his face as Vlad drew the knife down his arm a short distance, watching Danny tremble and gasp as the knife cut through layers of skin, deep into Danny's flesh, sending blood pouring out of the massive gash that reached from his shoulder to his elbow.

"I imagine you don't want to tell anyone, do you? I can easily kill you if you do. I suggest silence." Vlad smirked as Danny nodded rapidly, before letting go of his hand. Danny scurried backwards, into a corner, and began crying as soon as Vlad left the room, incapable of doing anything else. He didn't even do anything about the cut, which continued to bleed. Vlad left him to his own devices, even to the point of not bringing him any food, because Danny refused, for a very long time, to venture outside of the double doors of his room.

* * *

"Danny, your parents are back. I expect you to behave properly. Remember, say anything and I'll use this on you again." Vlad walked into Danny's room with an amused look at Danny's reaction, cowering in a corner, not breathing, and pulling the covers he'd placed in that corner over his face. He pulled out the knife again, aware that Danny was terrified of it almost as much as he was afraid of Vlad. He walked closer, enjoying the abject terror that forced itself onto Danny's face. Vlad leaned forward, gripping Danny by the arm, and hauling him up. "Come. You need new clothes. You've been wearing the same soiled clothing for a week."

Vlad yanked Danny's arm, pulling him to the drawers where his clothes were kept. Danny didn't protest. He couldn't. He let the man pull the nightgown Danny had never changed off, and pull off his underwear. Danny stood perfectly still. Vlad put a pair of jeans and a shirt, and new underwear, on Danny. "Your father wants to see you. He thinks that you were punished. If he asks, you can say that." Danny didn't twitch. Vlad flashed the red eyes that haunted Danny's dreams now, and he knew that there was no way he would disobey Vlad.

Finally, Danny was ready, and he was pulled into the living room by his used-to-be uncle, Vlad. "Danny-boy! Vladdy says you were being bad." It was the introductory statement for something painful, probably. Danny didn't nod, and didn't stir. He listened as Jack switched from pointing out problems in his behavior to friendly talk with Vlad. Danny sat there, and didn't say anything. In fact, nothing happened to him until he was pulled down the steps and into the Fenton RV.

Suddenly, Jack lashed out, slapping him hard across the cheek. Danny's head turned to the side, and he could feel something pop. The world tilted, and his neck burned. He didn't make a sound, not even when he hit the ground from the force of the blow, head pounding from impact with the metal flooring of the RV. The world was blurry and unfocused around him, and he was helpless against the verbal assault that followed, as Jack yelled at him. "You are a disappointment! Jasmine here could have behaved better, and you go and get my best friend angry. Stupid kid." The words stung a little, but Danny had heard them so many times it didn't bother him so much anymore. He listened.

At least Jack stopped soon, now that they had to be underway. It took a long time, a few hours, to reach home. Danny curled up next to Jazz and fell asleep, a week of almost no sleep finally forcing him into darkness, neck still burning.

* * *

Danny didn't eat anything for a long time when they got home. He didn't venture outside. He didn't communicate. It took weeks for Danny to be unafraid of people, and to eat properly again. He flinched for a long time anytime anybody touched him. Nobody missed his chatter except Jazz, who only noticed it for a short time before she accepted it as being simply one of his things. At some point, she almost forgot he had ever spoken. Danny couldn't speak. He barely slept, nightmares constantly preventing him from slumber.

Finally, someone noticed how odd it was, other than his sister. It was when his parents filled out his sheet for attending school and they came to the part of the paper where it asked about problems he might have, disabilities. They put down that he never spoke, and that he rarely communicated, and it was then that they realized something was wrong. They got a speech pathologist, Miranda Sutterly, to work with him, but it did nothing. He didn't tell the pathologist why he couldn't speak.

Miranda said it was clear that Danny was intelligent, and that she couldn't figure out why he didn't speak. Scans showed that nothing was wrong with his vocal chords. He simply refused to speak. His parents didn't know exactly when he stopped, so they couldn't help, either. Jazz was questioned. Nothing came up. He was diagnosed as electively mute, and qualified for special help. However, because he refused to communicate, sometimes even on the most basic of levels, it was impossible to place him in school. He stayed at home, except when he wandered outside sometimes. He went to the library, but few people noticed him. He was provided with audiobooks, which he listened to, and they could only hope he was learning something.

Jazzy was the one who kept Danny from death. She cared for him, far more than his parents. If he needed something, she could somehow see it in his body language. He didn't respond to much, but his sister was someone he almost always was willing to "talk" to. However, no matter what happened, no matter that time passed, he couldn't stop the nightmares. He wished for one thing: to forget what had happened to him, to unsee the splattered red on the floor.

 **Like it? Hate it? Review it, please! Thanks! There may or may not be a sequel, this was just a random idea that popped into my skull. This, at any rate, is probably the final chapter. Another story that kind-of sort-of involves Danny as a mutant that I wrote is "Blank Slate". I would love if my readers would take a look at that, and tell me if they want a sequel for either this one or that one. I may or may not make it, but it might be fun to attempt. It might not necessarily involve meeting X-men, but it could…Blank Slate isn't in the same universe as this story.**

 **-MiaulinK**


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